Just Another FAYZ
by AwesomeOK1
Summary: Two decades after the Peridio Beach incident, when everyone over the age of fifteen mysteriously disappears in Monaco Town, Brooklyn Prescott finds her whole world being turned upside down as she, and everyone else in Monaco, have to experience the same thing Sam Temple went through. Will anyone survive the coming of the next-generation FAYZ?
1. The Beginning

The end of the world as Brooklyn knew it had started out so innocently. It had been yet another ordinary day. She'd been sitting at home, snacking from a bag of potato chips. Her mother was in the other room and Brooklyn heard her humming as she ironed her clothes on the ironing board.

Brooklyn hadn't noticed anything had gone wrong at first. She'd been happily caught up in what she'd been watching on TV. She hadn't even realized at first that her mother had stopped humming.

She was only just starting to smell smoke when the doorbell rang. Not once, but multiple times, as whoever was outside her front door jabbed the button repeatedly.

"I'm coming!" Brooklyn called out as she hurried over to unlock the door.

Standing outside was Izzy Schmitz, Brooklyn Prescott's next-door neighbor and best friend since first grade. "Brooklyn? Are you alright?"

"Yeah…what are you talking about, Izzy?" Brooklyn asked. "I'm fine. Did something happen, cause you look-"

"It's my mom! She just…she just disappeared!" Izzy panted.

"What do you mean, disappeared? What, she left the house without you knowing?"

"No. I was talking to her in my bedroom and she just…disappeared. Vanished into thin air. Right in front of me, Brook!"

Brooklyn paused for a moment, before breaking out into a wide grin. "Very funny, Izzy. You almost got me there."

"I'm serious, Brooklyn! This isn't a joke!" Izzy insisted.

Brooklyn frowned.

"Look, why don't you go check on your mom?" Izzy suggested. "Just in case."

"My…my mom?" Brooklyn stared back at Izzy warily, before turning on her heel and rushing to her mom's room. "Mom? Mom?!"

Her mother wasn't there. The iron was burning a hole through her mother's favorite blouse, still on the ironing board. Brooklyn cursed and lifted the iron off her mother's blouse, setting it on the stand and inspecting the damage. A hole had burned right through the violet fabric.

Izzy pushed open the gate to Brooklyn's house and stepped inside, looking at the empty couch, with the bag of chips still lying on the coffee table where her best friend had left it. Brooklyn rushed out of her mom's room and over to Izzy. "It's true. My mom…she's gone."

"What's going on, Brooklyn?" Izzy asked.

"You're asking me? What makes you think I know?" Brooklyn protested.

"You're the one with all the ideas, aren't you?" Izzy offered weakly.

It was true. Back in school, it was always Brooklyn who raised her hand in class, who contributed the most in school projects, who got the better grades and the bigger circle of friends. The only thing Izzy had over Brooklyn was that Izzy had a boyfriend in Jericho Palmer. Brooklyn had no experience when it came down to romance.

The telephone rang and Brooklyn rushed to pick it up, hoping against hope that it would be her mother calling, perhaps to tell Brooklyn where she and Izzy's mom had disappeared off to.

Instead, it was a boy's voice. "Brooklyn?"

"Cris. Hey," Brooklyn said.

Cris was the closest person Brooklyn had to a boyfriend. They'd been out together a couple times. Cris had taken Brooklyn to see a couple movies before, and they'd gone to McDonalds for lunch together a few times when both were free after school and happened to meet each other while on the way to grab a bite.

Brooklyn didn't think Cris liked her. At least, she wasn't very sure. Brooklyn was clueless when it came down to romantic advances. Izzy was way more experienced in matters of the heart. The few times that Cris had taken Brooklyn out to see movies, it wasn't exactly a date, because they'd usually went with other people, mostly Cris's friends Janice, Stew and Fernando. Brooklyn didn't think those had been dates. Still, even if she suspected Cris only thought of her as a friend, that didn't Brooklyn from having a bit of crush on Cris. She was always embarrassed when she thought about it. Only Izzy knew Brooklyn's secret.

Cris was a relatively cute boy, average height and build, but a very kind, very compassionate person. He was always volunteering to help when the teachers needed some sort of assistance and Brooklyn admired that about him. Cris wasn't the class's most popular kid or anything like that. He may have been fit, but he wasn't sporty or athletic or a jock. Cris could play a mean basketball game, but he was more of a chess or photography person rather than a sports fan.

"There's been a lot of commotion," Cris said over the phone. "Is your mom or dad with you?"

"No. My mom disappeared. My dad…well, he should be at work right now, working up at the new shopping complex up in Kale Neighborhood," Brooklyn said, aware of Izzy watching her impatiently. "Cris, is your mom…?"

"Both my parents are missing. I tried making contact with my dad after my mom disappeared. He's not picking up. I called tons of people. They all said their parents disappeared too."

"Cris, what the hell is going on?" Brooklyn asked, her voice low with worry now.

"I don't know…everyone's coming out of their house now…everyone's in a panic…I'm outside right now…from what I can see, it's mostly kids and teenagers out here. I don't think anyone here looks older than fourteen or fifteen."

"Look, how about me and Izzy meet you? We can stick together until we figure out what just happened," Brooklyn suggested.

In the pit of her stomach, Brooklyn felt an icy feeling brewing, an icy feeling of worry.

"Alright…alright, look, I'll meet you in the Town Square, alright? You know our school president? Bobby Clinton? Yeah, well, he's found a megaphone and he's calling everyone to report there right now. I think you should come along. He might know what to do, or at least be able to organize everyone," Cris said.

Brooklyn sighed. "Alright…alright, I'm on my way."

She hung up quickly and beckoned to Izzy. "We should go to Town Square."

* * *

Bobby Clinton raised the megaphone to his lips. "Everyone! Is everyone here and accounted for?"

The population in Monaco Town was not that many. There were only a few facilities: only one library, one bakery, a couple of malls, a handful of restaurants and cafes, one neighborhood school and one boarding school, further up the road from Monaco. Other than that, Monaco Town was cut off from most of modern civilization, though it was quite the neat little place to take up residence at for a short vacation.

There were only about six hundred kids in Monaco Town, and Bobby quickly realized that no one aged fifteen or over was here. That left two hundred and sixty-seven fourteen year-olds and below, and only two hundred and fifty had bothered to report to the Town Square.

Bobby had authority in the neighborhood school of Monaco Town, as the school president. So, it was easy for him to get everyone in order. He was in charge of the School Council, which consisted of ten people: Lloyd Flounder, Flynn Strawn, Christian De Harper, Wolfe Carter, Aras Aranmore, Brent Callaghan, Gwendolyn Elisabeth Macy, Tonya Frizz, Heather Winston and Cris Evans.

He got his subordinates to get every kid in the Town Square in line, and made them arranged in order of age. Then, Bobby grabbed a clipboard and began taking down the names of the people here and the number of kids in each age group.

Bobby was an extremely organized person that way. He was a perfectionist and a neat freak and that was what had made him School President. When he'd been appointed with the position, the principal had told him that she trusted him to do a good job, to keep up the role of a leader, to not give up.

Bobby hadn't given up. No matter how tough dealing with things became, Bobby Clinton tried to remain strong. Whatever had happened, the sudden disappearance of his father, he fought down the tears and tried to keep his eyes dry for the sake of the others.

There were a total of about fifty preschool children, eighty kids ranging from five to ten years old and one hundred and twenty kids from eleven to fourteen. Bobby himself was close to fifteen; his birthday was looming up in a week's time. But if Bobby's hunch was correct about what had just happened to Monaco Town, there was no reason for celebration when a week would come by.

"Okay, people, I need your attention," Bobby announced.

The kids looked at him, all eyes fixated on him. Half of the kids, mostly the preschoolers or those younger than nine, were either crying or sniffling, hugging stuffed toys, eating baby snacks or whimpering for their Mommy and Daddy.

The older kids looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to lead them.

Bobby gulped. "Okay, so, before we begin, does anyone know where the missing kids are?"

There was silence.

"Nobody knows? Okay. Okay, we'll have to settle that issue later," Bobby said, putting his megaphone down for a second so he could hurriedly pick up a notepad and scribble down, 'FIND MISSING KIDS'.

Bobby never let his notepad out of his sight. It held all the information he needed when his brain was close to bursting and he needed something remembered. So he'd had this written down in ink, so he wouldn't forget it.

There was a small list on the notepad already.

'STRANGE POWER – THOUGHTS'

'OVER-FIFTEENS WENT MISSING'

'250 KIDS ACCOUNTED FOR'

'NEED:'

'TAKE CARE OF PRESCHOOLED'

'FOOD, WATER, ELECTRICITY, HOMES'

'HOSPITAL, POLICE, FIRE DEPARTMENT'

'FIND MISSING KIDS'

Today was meant to be the start of the summer holidays, which explained why most kids were at home when everyone over fifteen disappeared. It also meant that some of the kids here, in Monaco Town, might not even be Monaco Town citizens. He knew, for a fact, that a family of three had just checked in this morning at the Monaco Town Vacation Hotel. He knew that for a fact, because he'd watched his father, the doorman, open the door for the family to enter.

The family had consisted of a bearded old man, with a fourteen year-old brunette girl and her younger sister. Bobby wondered if the girl and her sister was still here. He hadn't seen them in the crowd. He pitied them; if they were still here, in Monaco Town, they'd be innocent parties, who just so happened to be unlucky enough to have come here, to this town, for a vacation, on the exact same day that everyone over fifteen disappeared.

"I understand everyone here must be feeling scared. I…I understand." Bobby swallowed. "The thing is…from what I've been observing…everyone the age of fifteen and above has…disappeared."

"No kidding," someone cried out from the crowd. This caused a girl in the crowd to break down in tears, as well as for two toddlers to start bawling. Gwen and Christian rushed to console them.

"Does anyone know what's happening? Why everyone over the age of fifteen just disappeared, into thin air?" Bobby asked.

Blank stares greeted him. Bobby sighed, massaging his temple. "Alright, well, then this could very well be a phenomenon."

"Where are our parents?"

"I want my mom and dad!"

"I'm hungry!"

The more Bobby delayed, the more murmurs began to rise up among the crowd, up until the point that people were soon yelling curses at him. A group of kids leaped to their feet and began publicly booing at him.

Bobby's mouth opened and closed lamely and he tried to control the crowd again, but people were already leaving the Square.

"People, you can't leave! We need to work together to find a way to fix this mess! We have to go to the neighboring town…find the authorities-"

Kids were filtering out of the area, some heading back to their homes, some staying with their friends. Gwen, Cris, Lloyd and the rest of his loyal Student Council came rushing up to him.

"What do we do?" Bobby asked them hopelessly.

"First things first, we tackle each problem one at a time," Cris suggested. "Let's find a place to crash first."

* * *

Brooklyn and Izzy were hanging out at Cris's house, sitting around in his living room. Cris was an only child, like Brooklyn. Izzy had a six year-old sister, Missy, who Izzy had found at the daycare. Right now, Izzy was slumped in one of Cris's couches, Missy on her lap, swinging her legs.

"Things have spun out of control," Izzy murmured, looking lost and frightened as she patted Missy's head absent-mindedly.

"Bobby will find a way to fix things," Brooklyn reassured.

"Oh yeah? Like the way he handled things at the Square?" Izzy asked.

Brooklyn didn't have an answer.

"There are going to be preschooled kids and toddlers out there, without parents or siblings to take care of them. Where do you think they're going to go? Who's going to take care of them?" Izzy asked.

"We should find authorities. Like heading to the neighboring town, LIttle Blackmoor," Brooklyn suggested.

The front door to Cris's house swung open and he stepped in, looking haggard. Behind him was Aras Aranmore and Christian De Harper.

"Brooklyn, Izzy, I take it you know Aras and Christian?" Cris introduced, looking weary.

Aras nodded at them, his hair a rat's nest and skin pale and clammy from fear and worry. Christian fared slightly better. He held out a hand to shake, which Brooklyn took. Izzy ignored it.

"They're going to crash at my place. You girls can take the guest bedroom, though there's only one bed. Aras and Christian are going to alternate between sharing a mattress in my room or crashing on the couch," Cris said, taking of his shoes and swinging the front door closed.

"It's okay, Cris. We should stick together, right?" Brooklyn said.

"Right," Christian said, slumping down in the seat next to her.

"So what's the situation out there?" Izzy asked innocently.

"Bobby's calling a meeting tomorrow. For the Council," Cris added, sinking down into a bean bag chair. "He's going to decide what we do to help the other kids. Then, when things here are stable, he's going to dispatch a team out to Little Blackmoor, to ask for help. When an entire community loses its entire adult population, things are undoubtedly weird at a whole new level. Let's just hope we can make find help from Little Blackmoor. I'm sure there'll be authorities there."


	2. Four Teams

Mitzi Sherman had to have had the worst timing in history. Of all the days she could have chosen to take a vacation with her Uncle Davis and her younger sister, Alexis, it had to be today.

The day when everyone over the age of fifteen magically disappeared.

One minute, she'd been talking with her uncle in their hotel room at the Monaco Town Vacation Hotel. The next thing she knew, boom. He was gone.

Without so much of a warning.

Mitzi had been scared out of her mind. It wasn't every day your uncle just disappeared, like a camera trick. But it had happened, and Mitzi had to rub her eyes to make sure she hadn't just had a hallucination or something.

Alexis, only eight years-old, had been confused and scared. At first, she'd thought it was a magic trick, but one look at the terror on Mitzi's face confirmed otherwise.

"Stay here," Mitzi had instructed Alexis as she peeked her head out the door to check the hallway of the hotel, to see if there was anyone who could assist them.

The hallway had been close to empty. Mitzi had made her way down to the lobby, where about five or six kids were gathered.

"What's going on? Where's the receptionist?" Mitzi had asked, looking behind the empty counter, where the receptionist should have sat.

"Gone!" one of the kids, looking to be the oldest, had said, scared.

"What do you mean 'gone'? How can someone just be...'gone'? Did he get up and walk away?" Mitzi asked.

"My parents...they just disappeared!"

"So did mine!"

"Are there any adults?"

The kids were worked up and panicking. Mitzi had rushed back to her room, locked the door behind her and cradled her sister in her lap, both girls huddling on the bed.

Mitzi had tried to call the police, but there was no signal, even though there had been less than ten minutes ago. Scared out of her mind, Mitzi had heard noises outside her room window. It sounded like someone speaking through a megaphone, coming from the direction of the Town Square.

"Where's Uncle Davis?" Alexis had asked Mitzi in a whimper.

"I don't know," Mitzi had replied.

She hated not knowing. She hated the feeling of hopelessness. She'd clutched onto her sister fiercely, both protecting each other, their hearts beating on silently, even as the sound of voices continued from outside. Mitzi hadn't dared go see what the commotion had been about. She rocked herself and Alexis to sleep.

* * *

"Mitzi, look."

Mitzi's eyes fluttered open. Groaning, she looked around for Alexis.

And her eyes shot open; she instantly sobered up.

"Alexis!" Mitzi cried out in alarm, sitting up in the bed in shock.

Alexis had her index finger up in the air, like she was pointing to the ceiling. And a thin flame was bouncing on the tip of her fingernail. She giggled, looking at the flame as it flickered on the tip of her finger, like her finger was a candle. "Mitzi, come see!"

"Alexis, how- how- Alexis, you stop that right now! You hear me?" Mitzi shuddered, grabbing Alexis's wrist. The flame extinguished itself as soon as Mitzi grabbed Alexis's arm. "Don't do that! Alexis, what the hell?"

"I'm...I'm sorry?" Alexis muttered, looking apologetic and confused.

"Just...no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you...just don't...don't scared me like that again, okay? And don't go around doing that in public!" Mitzi added, her heart thundering.

"Why? I just made fire. Is something wrong?" Alexis asked, her eyes wide and confused.

"N-No...no, just...other people won't take it nicely if you start...start conjuring fire like that. Don't do it anymore, okay, Alexis?" Mitzi asked weakly.

"Okay," Alexis said. "Sorry."

"Come here." Mitzi brought Alexis in for a hug. She could detect Alexis's guilt and also, her confusion and disappointment. Her three main emotions. Mitzi was always worried Alexis would turn out like her, turn out a freak.

"What do we do now?" Alexis asked, her voice muffled against Mitzi's shirt.

"We should go," Mitzi said. "We'll head into town and find help."

* * *

"We're going to need four teams," Bobby said, laying out a map of Monaco Town on the table in front of them.

The entire Student Council had gathered in a Meeting Room, in a deserted office complex near the Town Square. It was just the eleven of them, along with Brooklyn - who had asked Cris if he could let her tag along, and Bobby had allowed it, because he needed extra manpower, and Cris's friends Janice, Stew and Fernando, all of whom Cris had asked over to help.

"I need one team to travel out by this road, here, to Little Blackmoor, and contact the authorities there about what's happened," Bobby instructed. "I'll also need another team to go make inventory of all the food and water we have left in Monaco Town. Another team will go grab as many medical supplies as can be found, in case an emergency situation occurs and we don't have any paramedics around to help. Lastly, the fourth and final team will go from house to house, and take note of who is living in who's house, and to take down their names and address on a clipboard, so we make sure everyone is accounted for."

"Sounds like a good plan," Lloyd said. "But if we just focus on getting help from Little Blackmoor, why do we need to do the rest? Getting food and water and all that?"

"It's just in case," Bobby chided. "Given that the impossible happened and our parents disappeared in the blink of an eye, anything could happen, and it helps to be prepared for a worst case scenario, right? Now, Wolfe, Brent, you guys mind being on food and water duty?"

Wolfe shrugged. "Brent?"

Brent nodded. "Yeah, that sounds fine."

"Good, then you're in charge of our rations," Bobby said. "If you need extra people to help you find the food and water, you can take Janice and Tonya with you. You girls okay with that?"

When no argument came forth, Bobby continued. "Cris, Christian, how do you feel about medical supplies?"

Cris shrugged. "Sure."

"Alright, then the two of you are in charge of first aid. Brooklyn can lend a hand with you in that. You have first aid experience, don't you, Brooklyn?" Bobby asked, looking at Brooklyn weirdly.

Brooklyn sucked in a breath, looking hard into Bobby's eyes, hoping he wouldn't give her away. "Y-Yeah. I do - sort of. My...my mom sort of...taught me."

"Alright, good," Bobby said, nodding at Brooklyn pointedly. "Gwendolyn, Aras, Heather, you guys can go house-to-house. Fernando, you too. Lastly, Lloyd, Flynn, Stew, you guys can be on the team that goes to Little Blackmoor. Any questions?"

"What about you?" Stew suddenly asked, looking sour. "You're not doing anything?"

"I'm going to stay here. I don't want the other kids to get panicked if the School President disappears. I know that sounds narcissistic, but hear me out. The people are scared, and if the last person they have closest to some sort of natural leader just...disappears without warning, it could cause a lot of fear and worry within the community," Bobby said.

Stew raised an eyebrow. A couple of others were looking at him, almost accusingly.

"Uh...but I will be helping out too, of course," Bobby added hastily. He didn't like some of the looks being shot his way, mostly from Stew and Fernando. Most of the people on the Council were loyal to him and had proved their worth yesterday in helping him deal with the kids, but he didn't know if he could count on the other four newcomers; Cris's friends. Bobby knew he had to get them to trust him. He didn't need minor problems like trust issues messing things up more than they already were. "I'll be going with the team, house-to-house, just to speak with the kids and reassure them that we're working on fixing this mess."

Stew nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Bobby clapped his hands. "We should get to it, now. There's no time to waste."

* * *

Izzy opened the door of Cris's house to find Jericho, her boyfriend, standing on the doorstep, looking frazzled.

The two of them embraced, wordlessly, the worry of their situation conveyed through unspoken words.

Finally, Jericho resurfaced. "Izzy, are you alright?"

"Fine," Izzy said. She laughed humorlessly. "Who am I kidding? I'm not fine. No one's fine. Come in already. I'll get you something to drink from the fridge."

Cris's refrigerator was well-stocked with a couple frozen pizzas, a carton of butter, five cans of Coke, two cans of Dr. Pepper, and two cartons of orange juice. Izzy grabbed a can of Coke and tossed it to Jericho, who caught it with one hand. The two of them slumped down in separate armchairs in Cris's living room. Jericho turned the television on, only to be greeted by static. "Still no channels, huh?"

"I can put in a DVD," Izzy volunteered.

"Nah. It's okay," Jericho said, turnign the television off.

Her mother had not approved of Izzy's relationship with Jericho. _You're too young to be getting a boyfriend_, her mother had said. Izzy had only started going out with Jericho about six months ago, but the two had gone on casual dates and had flirted once or twice without things getting too serious before. They'd only decided to try being a casual couple after a particularly amazing date half a year ago. Things got more serious within the six months and the casual relationship they'd agreed on had stemmed into something more for Izzy. She wasn't sure what Jericho thought. Maybe he thought the same, or maybe he was just using her. But for now, she was happy to have him around.

"How have you been, Izzy? Do you want to move in at my place? I don't think my brother Zack will mind very much. He's very fond of girls. It's almost kind of creepy, actually," Jericho said, giving a weak chuckle.

"It's okay. I actually prefer being with Brooklyn," Izzy said. "Sorry, but I'm more comfortable sleeping with a person my gender."

"We can get you your own room," Jericho offered. "I have a guest room at my house. Zack sleeps with me, so you don't have to worry about sleeping in the same room as a boy."

"No, I...I'm scared of sleeping alone too," Izzy confessed, feeling the blush reach her cheeks.

"With Brooklyn, I get to sleep in the same room as another person, and a girl too. I don't want to sleep alone, or with a boy," Izzy said, hanging her head a little.

"Oh." Jericho scratched the back of his neck, before pulling the tab and taking a sip of his Coke.

"I've actually always been nervous about that. I...I still sleep in my mom's room, actually," Izzy said.

Jericho nodded. "It's okay, there's nothing to...uh...nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Then why won't you look at me?"

Jericho sighed, looking up at Izzy. "Sorry, Izzy. I just...I just thought you'd like to..."

"To what?" Izzy frowned. "To sleep with you?"

"No! Well, not like that, at least. I just thought it would be the right thing to do. You know, boyfriend and girlfriend crashing at the same house. It was just an idea," Jericho muttered.

Izzy sighed, massaging her temple as her headache grew.

"Are you alright? How are you holding up so far?" Jericho asked, noticing her movement.

"No! I'm not alright at all! Who would be, really?" Izzy spat. "Look around you. Everyone's scared. No adults, no policemen, no doctors or teachers, nobody! Who wouldn't be scared?"

"You know, I heard some kids talking earlier. They mentioned something about the FAYZ," Jericho said.

"Phase? What?" Izzy asked.

"No. The F-A-Y-Z. You know, the Peridio Beach incident? The one that had been all over the news? I remember my mom telling me about it once, as a bedtime story," Jericho explained. "Something happened at this place called Peridio Beach, almost twenty years ago, where all the adults over fifteen disappeared, and Peridio Beach was encased in a giant glass dome by an impenetrable barrier."

"I've heard about that," Izzy murmured.

"I don't remember all the details, they're fuzzy in my memory. All I remember is something about an autistic kid, and some sort of nuclear radiation of some sort. Half the things my mother told me sounded like a fairy tale. There were talking animals and crazy kids with tentacles for arms and stuff like that. I still don't remember all of it. I know one of the survivors, a girl, had written a book about the events that went on inside. You don't think...?" Jericho trailed off.

"What, that this is the same incident? That Monaco Town is the next-generation FAYZ?" Izzy snapped.

"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you about what I'd heard. Cause I knew you'd overreact!" Jericho scowled.

"Overreact? You're telling me I'm trapped in a glass dome and, if what I remember about the Peridio Beach incident was correct, my life is about to go to hell? How does anyone take that information lightly, Jericho?" Izzy spat.

"I'm just telling you what I heard, alright?" Jericho exclaimed, angry. "I'm just saying...it's possible! The adults disappearing...all of it..."

"Well, whatever. I don't want to hear anymore about mutants with tentacles for arms or talking coyotes or anything of the sort! I'll have none of it! I'm sure this is all just some sort of accident or something. Maybe it was aliens, maybe it was nuclear radiation, but I refuse to believe I'm trapped in some sort of...some sort of...FAYZ!" Izzy scowled. "You remember all the awful things that happened to the people who were trapped in there. Many of them died in there. One girl actually managed to escape and she died a monster! I don't want that, Jericho! I don't want any of it!"

Jericho sighed, his hand crushing down onto his can of Coke. "You know, forget it. Forget I said anything."

The two of them sat in stony silence for a while.

"I'm sorry, I should probably go," Jericho said, getting up as Izzy watched him. "It was a mistake to have come here and made you mad. I was asking for trouble. Besides, I don't really want to get into an argument, especially not on my fifteenth birth-"

The can of Coke dropped to the ground as Jericho's hand, as well as his entire body, blinked away. Izzy's eyes went wide as the can dropped to the ground, the brown, sticky liquid sloshing out onto the carpeted floor. Izzy's heart pounded, her mouth was wide open and for a moment, she couldn't say anything. Her voice didn't seem to work.

The door to the house swung open as Cris and Brooklyn stepped in, in the middle of a conversation.

"-sorry we had to come back just to get my- Izzy?" Brooklyn stopped short. She and Cris studied Izzy. Brooklyn rushed to her, seeing her friend's shocked expression. "Izzy, what's wrong?"

Izzy finally found her voice again and she let out a scream.


	3. Discovering The Barrier

Lloyd was only 14 years old. He was relatively tall, for most kids his age, and still, he'd had to move his chair up to its maximum height just so his feet could reach the pedals and make it possible for him to drive the van. Flynn, who was actually one of Lloyd's good friends atop of being his fellow colleague on the School Council, was riding shotgun. Stew was in the back, chewing gum and drumming his fingers on his kneecap.

"Steady, now," Flynn said as Lloyd jerkily pulled his father's van out of the driveway.

The vehicle moved slowly as Lloyd got used to its controls. Finally, he pulled out onto the road. There were no cars driving down the streets in Monaco Town, not with no one around to drive them. The biggest worries on Lloyd's mind was that he'd smash into one of the cars that had been left on the road when its drivers had disappeared, or that he'd run someone over.

Lloyd missed his father and mother. He missed seeing his mother greet him everytime he got back from school. He missed seeing his dad, a mechanic, pull up in the same truck Lloyd, Flynn and Stew were in now.

Stew. Lloyd wasn't sure about the guy. Lloyd knew Stew was one of Cris's friends. If not for Cris, Stew wouldn't even have shown up to help Bobby with his plans. But Cris had assured them that Stew was reliable, as well as Fernando and Janice and Brooklyn. The only thing Lloyd knew about Stew was that he didn't have parents. Maybe that was partially why Stew was holding up so well from the loss of adults. Lloyd knew that Stew's legal guardian was his uncle Cillian; a bum and an alcoholic who made a living off selling hot dogs at the beach nearby. Stew didn't seem to bothered by the loss of his uncle; Lloyd doubted Stew really cared much about all that was going on in Monaco Town.

As for Lloyd's friend, Flynn, Lloyd was more worried. Flynn had started acting out a few months ago. He'd seemed really nervous during gym classes at school and, from what Lloyd had observed, Flynn had been particularly slow to act when it came down to exercises like jumping jacks or things that involved legwork. He'd always wondered if there was more to Flynn than his friend had let on. The loss of adults had taken its toll on all of them. Flynn only had his mother and younger twin sisters, Abby and Ellie. All three siblings had let Lloyd stay with them, since he hadn't liked living in his big empty house, alone.

Following Flynn's directions and navigating, Lloyd followed the road that was meant to head down to Little Blackmoor.

"Why do you guys do it?" Stew suddenly asked from the back seat.

"Do what? Drive?" Lloyd asked. "I don't drive very often. I don't think many people under 15 really do."

"Not that. I meant about our model school president. Bobby. Why do you follow him?" Stew asked.

Flynn turned around to look at Stew. "Well, he has proven to be a good leader in school. He is the man with ideas now. With all the kids scared from no adults, he is the one taking charge of everything and everyone. Doesn't that deserve a bit of approval?"

Stew shrugged.

"You're not still miffed about the misunderstanding earlier, are you?" Lloyd asked, looking at Stew in the rear-view mirror. "Bobby's working anyway. He's not skiving. If anything, the people who are skiving are the kids bumming out in their homes instead of helping gather resources and supplies and all that stuff, to keep the kids safe until the authorities arrive."

"Well, if I had a choice, I wouldn't have voted him our leader," Stew said. "You know who would be a _real _good leader? Cris."

"Cris?" Flynn asked. "I don't doubt it, but why him specifically?"

"It's not just because he's my friend," Stew said. "But Cris has many ideas on how to improve the school. Way better ideas than Bob the Builder back there, anyway, in my opinion."

They continued the drive in relative silence. The road leaving Monaco Town and heading towards Little Blackmoor snaked around the corner. And Lloyd slammed his foot down on the brakes.

The three of them jerked forward in their seats. Lloyd's and Flynn's seatbelts prevented them from being hurled out the window, but Stew was thrown forward and smashed into the back of Lloyd's seat. His gum flew out of his mouth and landed on Lloyd's lap.

"What the hell, man? You trying to kill me?" Stew cursed, wiping spittle from his chin.

Lloyd was too distracted to even be mad at him, or to even swipe the gum off his pants. "Look!"

Stew and Flynn followed his gaze, looking out the windshield. Directly in front of them, cutting the road in half, blocking their way forward, was what appeared to be a barrier of some sort.

Lloyd got out of the car, Flynn and Stew following after him.

"What the hell is this?" Flynn murmured.

Lloyd looked up in the sky. The barrier stretched up as far as he could see, and stretched to the side as well. It looked almost as if...as if it was surrounding Monaco Town. Like a dome.

A story Lloyd had heard before, a story about kids being trapped in a dome, rang in his mind. The details were fuzzy as a word floated through the haze in his distant memory, right on the tip of his tongue.

Stew stretched out a hand to touch the barrier. "Is it glass? What is-"

"The FAYZ," Lloyd gasped.

Stew cursed out loud, reeling his hand back. "Ow! That hurt!"

"What's wrong, Lloyd?" Flynn asked, recognizing the deep, thoughtful expression on his friend's face. "What have you figured out?"

"We're not getting to Little Blackmoor this way. Get back in the van," Lloyd said. "We need to report this to Bobby."

* * *

Gwendolyn Elisabeth Macy was getting increasingly sick and tired of getting attitude from the many kids she'd had to speak with that morning. She, Aras, Bobby and Heather had gone house-to-house across the neighborhood in Monaco Town. They'd split into pairs of two - she with Aras, Bobby with Heather.

Each time the door opened, she and Aras would usually be greeted by a scowl. Many kids, mostly around their age, had been cold and ungrateful towards them. Most of the time, the kids who answered the door had told her and Aras to take a hike, and if they didn't, they'd be bawling and asking Gwen and Aras if they'd come to rescue them.

When Gwen popped the question, "What's your name? Is anyone else living with you?" and the other questions that Bobby had assigned her to ask, the kids were not very understanding or patient with her. One toddler had puked all over her shoes, another had beat on her torso with his chubby little fists, yelling and shrieking at her to leave him alone. One 14 year-old, a guy named Stanley, had come close to smacking her cheek if Aras hadn't intervened.

By the end of it, Gwen was in a thoroughly bad mood.

Aras, who had hung back most of the time while Gwen had been asking the questions, took note of her weariness and relented. "You know what? Let me do the talking. You can be the one to take down the names and addresses on the clipboard."

He handed her the clipboard, on which he'd been busy scribbling down names and addresses while Gwen had been doing the interviewing. Gwen accepted the role reversal gratefully, taking the clipboard from Aras with a tired "Thanks."

"Are you doing okay so far? Not just with this whole house-to-house business. I mean about the adults' disappearance," Aras asked conversationally as they walked down the street, heading to the next residential district.

Gwen groaned, putting a hand to her forehead. "I'm not exactly doing okay. I mean, are you?"

Aras shook his head. "No. Definitely not. I just thought it would be nice to ask."

Gwen smiled weakly. "Well, I appreciate the thought."

Now that she was here, talking to him, Gwen had to wonder how she and Aras hadn't hung out earlier, or very much, back at school. Perhaps they just didn't mix very much. Aras was a very handsome boy, probably one of the best-looking in the class, and that had earned him a place in the popular kids' clique in class. His friendship with Cris and Christian had helped. Gwen was more of a bookish, down-to-earth sort of person. It was her business-like no-nonsense personality that had earned her the position in the Student Council. She helped make executive decisions. One could say she was something close to an advisor, for Bobby. As a matter of fact, she'd been the one to advise him to bring a notepad with him wherever he went, when Bobby first took up the job as School President. And she'd been the one to have found the megaphone and told him to call all kids to the Town Square yesterday. She was, like, the behind-the-scenes person, pulling Bobby's strings, but Gwen had never found the urge to have to take credit for it. She was happy to help Bobby. Besides, he was School President because of his own merit. Gwen just helped him along the way.

They reached the next house, registered to a Mr. Joel Kelsey. Aras knocked on the door and waited patiently, calmly rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Gwen stood next to him, scratching the back of her neck and tapping her foot.

"Strange," Aras remarked, knocking on the door again. "Hello? Is anyone in there?"

"Maybe there's no one in here," Gwen muttered. "There are a lot of empty houses."

"You're probably right," Aras said.

But he didn't budge.

Gwendolyn had noticed something weird. Every time they stopped by a supposedly empty house, even though Gwen was aching to move on to the next one, Aras would always stop and stand there, watching the house, as if specifically waiting for something to happen. Gwen had observed that he almost seemed to be scouring the house with his eyes, looking at the walls and windows as if expecting to see something there.

He let out a small gasp. "This house is occupied."

Gwen frowned. She'd seen Aras's eyes land on the window of the second-floor bedroom and he was staring at the window intently, as if he could see someone there. Gwen couldn't.

"How do you know?" Gwen asked.

Aras opened his mouth, but closed it abruptly, as if deciding against his better judgment. "I think someone's on the second floor."

Gwen hesitated, following his gaze to the second-floor window. "O-kay...what do you want to do?"

"Stand back," Aras said.

Gwen moved a step back, watching as Aras pulled his leg back and kicked at the door. It didn't budge, but the hinges creaked slightly. He kicked the door again and again with his foot and finally, it began to splinter open, though only slightly.

"Are you really kicking the door down?" Gwen asked in a whisper, feeling worried as Aras began brutally kicking the door in. "This is unethical! This is breaking and entering!"

"There's someone up there! He could be knocked out or unconscious!" Aras said, in a panic as he began slamming his shoulder into what remained of the door now.

"Well..."

"Gwen, it's alright if you don't trust me, but I know I'm correct, okay?" Aras snapped, uncharacteristically firm.

Gwen scowled, folding her arms. "Well, you're not going to get into the house charging at the door like a wild animal."

Aras stopped his assault on the door and panted, hands on his knees. "So what do you suggest we do?"

Gwen rolled her eyes and moved over, placing her hand on the doorknob. She paused, turning back to cast Aras a sharp, accusing glare. "Look away."

"But-"

"Do it."

Aras sighed and turned his back on her. Once she was sure he wouldn't be able to see what she was doing, Gwen turned back to the doorknob and squeezed her eyes shut. She forgot the rest of the world, simply concentrating on her hand on the doorknob, focusing her energy on it.

The sound of a deadbolt sliding to the side broke the silence. Gwen opened her eyes and smiled to herself as the door swung open. Aras whirled around. "How'd you do that?"

Gwen swallowed. "I picked the lock."

Aras narrowed his eyes. "No one picks a lock that fast."

"Maybe I have skills," Gwen said.

"Yeah. Maybe you do," Aras murmured.

He rushed into the house, calling out. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"You said there was someone on the second floor, right?" Gwen prompted. "Let's go."

The two of them rushed up the stairs and they checked each room as they moved along. Aras stopped by the last door and hurried in. "Gwen, in here!"

Gwen rushed over just in time for Aras to stagger out, cradling a girl in his arms. There was a 13 year-old girl, lying in Aras's arms. She was unconscious, and there was blood trickling down her forehead.

"Help me carry her!" Aras panted.

* * *

Bobby hurried over when he heard the news of what had happened.

Heather was rushing behind him in his wake as he made his way over to the scene of the incident...

Cris's house.

He and Heather found Cris standing outside the gate, looking frazzled. Izzy was sitting on the front steps, sniffling and blowing her nose into a wet tissue. Brooklyn sat next to her, her arm over her friend's shoulder as the other girl wept.

"Cris! We came over as soon as we heard," Bobby said, holding up the walkie-talkie in his hand.

Gwendolyn had found the walkie-talkies. She'd had the sense to check the police station earlier that day. Gwen was almost as organized as Bobby was. For Bobby's sake, Gwen had taken inventory of all the weapons at the station; mostly guns used by the police officers that had been left behind; and there had also been a few walkie-talkies, which Bobby had handed out to each of the four teams before they all dispersed. The walkie-talkies were now, quite possibly, the only mode of communication here in Monaco Town, until Lloyd, Flynn and Stew came back from Little Blackmoor.

Christian was leaning against the wall, watching Izzy and Brooklyn solemnly. Cris hurried over to them. Bobby and Heather had rushed over as soon as they'd received the message over the walkie-talkie, from Cris.

"Is it true?" Bobby asked as soon as he approached Cris.

"Man, I don't know. I didn't see it happen," Cris muttered, looking nervous.

"Who did?" Bobby asked.

"Who do you think, man?" Cris said, jerking a thumb at the crying Izzy.

"So you're saying, he just, disappeared? Like, what, like magic? Not a trace of evidence left behind?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. At least, that's what Izzy told me. She said her boyfriend Jericho came over and he just...just vanished. In the middle of their conversation," Cris murmured.

"Like the adults?" Heather asked.

"Yeah," Cris said. "Now that you mention it, I think it was Jericho's fifteenth birthday today."

Bobby groaned inwardly. He exchanged looks with Heather. "I think you know as well as I do what this means."

Heather nodded grimly. Cris dragged a hand over his face. "What, you mean, the Peridio Beach thingy? Is that what this is?"

Bobby's and Cris's walkie-talkies crackled and Lloyd's voice came gushing out. _"Bobby? Bobby, do you read me?"_

"Yeah, I can hear you," Bobby answered.

_"Bobby!" _Gwen's voice. _"Bobby, where did you and Heather go? Aras and I got an injured girl here and no medical supplies! Where's Cris and Christian?"_

_"Bobby, the road to Little Blackmoor. It's blocked! You need to come see this!" _from Flynn.

"Hang on a second, guys, I got my own crisis here," Bobby exclaimed.

_"Cris, are you there?" _Gwen asked shrilly.

"Yeah, I'm here," Cris responded.

_"I've got an injured girl here. I need a first aid kit. Have you, Christian and Brooklyn found one yet?"_

"Gwen, we haven't even left Brooklyn's house yet!" Cris replied.

_"What? Why?"_

"Okay, okay, Gwen, calm down. You too, Lloyd," Bobby said, taking charge. He turned to Cris. "Cris, you take Christian and Heather with you. Go to the local pharmacy and find a first aid kit. If you can't find one there, look for one in the hospital or something. Once you find it, go find Gwen and Aras. Go, now."

"But Brooklyn-" Cris began.

"She'll be fine. I'm here, alright? Nothing's going to happen to her. The three of you, get moving," Bobby ordered.

Cris bit his lip, but nodded, beckoning for Heather and Christian to follow him. The three of them took off.

"Just sit tight, Gwen," Bobby said weakly.

_"Bobby, she's losing blood!" _Gwen murmured, sounding frightened. Bobby knew Gwen didn't do too well with medical emergencies, unlike Brooklyn, who Bobby had seen treat her own injuries before. _"What do I do? Do I put pressure on the wound, or...?"_

_"Here, I'll take her,"_ Aras said.

Bobby looked up as a van came screeching around the corner and slowed to a stop in front of the house. Lloyd, Flynn and Stew came barreling out.

"Bobby, the wall. You have to see it!" Lloyd insisted as he approached Bobby.

"No need," Bobby said, stopping Lloyd in his tracks. "Let me guess, the road was blocked by a barrier."

He turned back to the crying Izzy and sighed. "I had a hunch, after the adults' sudden disappearance, that this might be the reason for it. But Jericho's disappearance on his birthday just confirmed it."

"The FAYZ," Lloyd said. "Is it true, Bobby...?"

"I think it is," Bobby muttered. "If it's true, that means...that means we're all trapped in Monaco Town, with no escape."

* * *

Mitzi had Alexis by the hand and was leading her through the streets of Monaco Town. There was, strangely enough, no traffic. Hardly any voices. She could hear the sounds of television from the houses, but when she peeked in through windows, she could only see kids, either playing on game consoles or watching DVDs. Other scenes were more disturbing. She was toddlers crying on their own, alone. She saw babies vomiting in their cots. Try as she might, she couldn't get in the houses.

"There must be an adult, or someone in charge," Mitzi murmured to herself.

Two boys and a girl ran down the street, in her direction. The girl was carrying what looked to be a small white box; a first aid kit.

"Hey! Hey, you there! Can you guys help me? Where is everyone?" Mitzi asked as they drew nearer.

"Sorry, can't stop," the first boy said as he hurried past her. "Emergency situation."

"Emergency? What emergency? Are there any adults? Anyone?" Mitzi asked.

But they'd already ran past her.

* * *

Gwen was ashamed.

She was ashamed for breaking down after seeing the blood happily trickling down the unknown girl's face. She'd been shaking, her hands trembling, and Aras had squeezed her hands comfortingly as she watched Cris and Heather treat the girl's wound.

It turned out not to be so serious. There was nothing else they could do for the girl except give her a place to sleep, on the couch in the School Council's meeting room, in the office complex that the eleven of them had seized as their base of operations.

They all gathered again, in the same meeting room. The girl lay on the couch, looking strangely peaceful, even with the bandage on her head.

Lloyd, Flynn and Stew had come back with bad news. So had Cris, Christian and Brooklyn.

And, so did Bobby.

"We're in another FAYZ," Bobby said. "According to Lloyd, Flynn and Stew, the road to Little Blackmoor is blocked. By a barrier. One that, apparently, hurts to touch."

"There's also another thing. My friend Izzy...her boyfriend Jericho disappeared today," Brooklyn spoke up. "Not disappeared, as in, his house abandoned and possessions taken. I mean, he vanished into thin air in front of her eyes."

"Everyone knows about the Peridio Beach incident that took place twenty years ago, right?" Bobby prompted. "Well, I think history's just decided to repeat itself."

"So what do we do?" Flynn asked.

"If this is all real, if this really is the start of another...another FAYZ incident...then we need to be prepared. This has happened before, so we need to learn from the past to prepare us for the future. First things first, we need to tell the kids," Bobby said. "No doubt this will scare many of them, but if we don't tell them, they'll start to wonder why the authorities from Little Blackmoor haven't arrived yet. And people will eventually find out on their own. We can't hide it from them."

"Secondly, we need to arrange proper housing for everyone. Everyone needs to settle in, until we figure out how to stabilize our community, we'll never be able to find a way to break out of the FAYZ. We're going to need food, water, medical supplies, electricity, all that sort of thing. We need to set up a system, a system for law enforcement, for medical assistance. We need people to take care of the preschoolers. They don't know how to take care of themselves, so we need to look out for them," Bobby said.

"Not just that, we have to deal with the poof," Cris said.

Everyone stared at him.

"The poof," he repeated, as if it was obvious. "That was what they called disappearing back in the original FAYZ. When someone turns fifteen."

"Bobby," Gwen suddenly said, as the revelation sunk in. "Bobby, you're turning fifteen in a week."

He paused, and chuckled, almost weakly. "Oh yeah. Almost forgotten."

"But...that's not a bad thing, right? Didn't kids step out into the outside world after poofing?" Lloyd asked.

"We don't know that for sure. There has to be some explanation for the FAYZ starting up a second time, in Monaco Town, right?" Bobby said. "It was because of the Darkness, back on Peridio Beach. The Darkness, and the creator of the FAYZ, an autistic boy with mutant powers. I'm quite sure there's no Darkness in Monaco Town, nor is there a mutant autistic boy, as far as I know. The creation of the FAYZ this time may be because of a completely different reason. So maybe poofing, this time, won't let us out into the real world."

"So what will you do? When you poof?" Christian asked.

"You'll be tempted, won't you?" Tonya asked. "Wasn't that what happened? A family member or loved one would tempt you?"

"Yes," Bobby confirmed.

"What will you do? Will you step out or choose to stay?" Heather asked.

Bobby bit his lip, aware of all the attention, all the sympathy and pity in the onlookers' gaze as they watched him, knowing doom could be coming for him in a week.

"I'm not going to dwell on matters of the future," he said, finally. "Right now, it doesn't matter whether I choose to step out or stay. What matters is 1) finding a way to sustain life in the FAYZ, so at least the preschoolers can survive until their turn to poof, and 2) we need to find out the reason for _our _FAYZ and why it's started again, and if possible, to find a way to stop it. We've got a lot of work to do."


	4. Making Steps to Settle In

It was Day 3. Day 3 of the Monaco Town FAYZ. The MT FAYZ. "Empty Phase". Lloyd had coined the term; now it stuck.

Kids were gathered, once again, back in the Town Square. Bobby was standing up on a raised platform, megaphone back in hand, addressing the crowd. Though Brooklyn may have helped Bobby and the Council out, and attended their meetings, she wasn't technically part of the Council yet. It was as if the eleven of them that made up the School Council now governed Monaco Town too. They had become a sort of impromptu government.

Brooklyn was standing next to Izzy. She was worried about her friend. When she, Cris, Christian and Aras had returned to Cris's house, they'd found her on the couch, crumpled tissues littering the floor around her as she sniffled and gazed off into space, staring with unnatural interest at nothing.

Izzy hadn't spoken many words since the incident yesterday. She'd come down to breakfast silently, ate without conversing with any of her four housemates, and had agreed to attend the mandatory meeting at the Town Square today without acknowledging the request. Overall, she'd been very reserved.

"We know, it's going to be tough trying to settle in," Bobby said, addressing the crowd, with most, if not all, the eyes watching him. "But if the people in Peridio Beach could have made it out of _their _FAYZ, we'll make it out of this one. We need everyone's co-operation..."

He trailed off, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. "We'll...uh...we're going to need you all to stick by us and help us when you can. It's for the benefit of all of us, as a whole, as a community."

There were a few angry murmurs at that. No one liked the idea of labor. Especially kids.

"There are matters that we, as a community, need to settle," Bobby said. "First and foremost, the issue of food. And water. We need people to help gather as many food supplies as we can find. Perhaps even set up a few impromptu restaurants or two. Wolfe and Brent over here are the two people in charge. We need a total of at least twenty people to scour Monaco Town for as many food supplies that can be found. We also need at least fifteen people on duty, to serve up food or guard grocery stores. Electricity's still working, so we can keep food fresh in refrigerators."

"Secondly, we need people on hospital duty. Cris and Christian are in charge of that, but we need to set up a schedule. We can't have them working 24/7. We need a system; people working on shifts," Bobby continued. "I say we use the current hospital for the MT FAYZ hospital. We've got all our supplies in there, stocked up in case of an emergency situation. I'll admit...not many of us have much experience with first aid and all that...but we work with what we have."

"Thirdly, housing. My team and I went house-to-house yesterday and it would be a great help on your part to list your name, address and the names of any housemates you have. We need to make sure everyone's settled in and have a place to stay during this time of crisis. And, last but definitely not least, the issue of the preschoolers," Bobby said gravely. "We need someone to take care of the preschoolers. They're young and, quite frankly, incapable of taking care of themselves. Someone needs to babysit them, and we need to do so on the same system of working in shifts. We're going to need everyone's co-operation to make the MT FAYZ work, until either we or the people in the outside world can figure out a way to get us out. Thank you all...for your support."

* * *

Lindsay awoke that morning feeling rather peculiar. She blinked in confusion and looked around. She was lying on a sofa, in what appeared to be a Conference Room, like the type that could be often found in office complexes. There was a blanket drawn over her, keeping her warm. She moved to sit up but let out a groan of pain as her head was hit by a stab of agony, as if someone was hammering away in her brain.

She put a hand up to touch her forehead. There was a large bandage over her head. Lindsay sighed and tried to remember what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered, she'd been crying in a mad frenzy, in her room at home. She remembered tripping over something, perhaps a table leg, and crashing to the floor. She remembered, all of a sudden, her head clipping the wall and everything going dark.

"Oh! You're awake. I was just about to check on you."

Lindsay turned her eyes to see a girl approaching her, having just come into the Conference Room. "Are you feeling alright?"

"W-Where am I?" Lindsay asked.

"You're in Monaco Town," the girl said matter-of-factly.

"I know I'm in Monaco Town," Lindsay slurred, almost drunkenly, her head still spinning, dizzy. "I'm asking...what is this room?"

"You're in a random meeting room, in one of the office complexes," the girl said. "This place is where the School Council meet up for discussions."

"The what?" Lindsay asked.

"School Council," the girl said. "Were you here when...when the adults-"

"Disappeared? Yes. I was," Lindsay replied. "What happened to me?"

"You must have injured yourself. My friend, Aras, and I found you in your home, unconscious," the girl said, drawing up a chair and slumping down into it, smiling over at Lindsay. "My name's Gwen. I'm one of the members of the Council. What's your name?"

"Lindsay," she answered. "Lindsay Waters."

Gwen smiled. "How old are you, Lindsay?"

"13," Lindsay replied.

"Well, Lindsay, you wouldn't have known this because you were unconscious but our School President, Bobby, now unofficial Mayor of the Town, has made some...decisions. Point is, he thinks it's safer for people to live together, with house-mates. Do you have any friends or siblings who you could stay with?" Gwen asked.

Lindsay's eyes welled up at the mention of siblings. "I had an older brother. I don't know where he is now."

Gwen bit her lip. "Well, perhaps you'd like to stay with me, for a while?"

"Why? Aren't the authorities coming to help rescue us? Or scientists, to research on how our parents and the adults disappeared?" Lindsay asked, wincing as she turned her head to look at Gwen in the eyes.

Gwen fidgeted more uncomfortably under Lindsay's gaze. "About that...I ought to tell you..."

* * *

Brooklyn hadn't expected very many people to come. Bobby had given a great speech that, for the most part, had been concise and fluent. Yet, these were still kids. Half of them weren't even in the same school that Bobby had been President of; still off in kindergarten or mucking around as the juniors of the Middle School. These kids were still young, still naive. Majority of them left the Town Square; only a small, pitiful handful had went up to Wolfe and Brent, ready to do their part in helping find food, and just like them, a small group would go up to Cris and Christian.

Brooklyn made her way over to Cris. "Hey."

He looked at her and smiled. "Glad you're here."

The two of them had been rather at ease the past three days. Both of them felt the pang from the loss of the adults, and both of them were trying to keep each other strong with the comfort they could provide for the other person. Brooklyn was still an idiot when it came down to romance and flirting and stuff like that. She had no idea if Cris liked her back. But she liked him. And she was glad to have him as a friend, as a housemate, especially right now, with Monaco Town in this situation.

Christian walked over to the pair of them. "We don't have very many people volunteering to help out in the hospital."

Bobby rushed over, Tonya, Aras and Heather at his heels. "So, how many people do you two have? Wolfe and Brent only have 10, all in the 11-14 year-old range."

Cris stepped forward counting the number of heads in the small group of people who had gathered in front of them. "11," he finally said to Bobby. "Counting you, Brooklyn."

"Great," Bobby said sarcastically, sighing and dragging a hand over his face. "We still need someone to babysit the preschoolers."

"I can do it," Heather volunteered. "You know I'm good with children."

"Thanks, Heather," Bobby said. "You're our Mother Mary."

Heather smiled, but shuddered suddenly. "Didn't that girl die?"

"Not the point here," Bobby said firmly. "Tonya, help Heather get the preschoolers together in the day care. If some preschoolers are already being taken care of by older siblings, leave them. Only find the preschoolers who are alone in the MT FAYZ without any siblings to take care of them. Bring them to the day care and help them settle in. Get them cots to sleep in and find baby food and milk for them."

"That's a lot to do," Tonya pointed out. "We have to find milk bottles, and milk and formula."

"Go to the grocery store. It's abandoned anyway. Get all the stuff you need. No need to pay for it, there's no point," Bobby said. "Aras, go find Gwen. I don't know where she's run off to."

"She mentioned something about checking on that girl we found yesterday," Aras said.

"Find Gwen," Bobby repeated. "The two of you have to go house-to-house again. I don't care, everyone in the MT FAYZ needs to do something every once in a while. They can choose to either help Wolfe and Brent find food, help maintain the hospital with Cris and Christian, or help Heather and Tonya at the day care. Assign everyone jobs. There are plenty of kids here in the MT FAYZ. I'd say we can go for about one to two months between each person's work shift, if they co-operate to help stabilize the community. Once you're done, both of you meet me back at the Conference Room. We still need to discuss finding a sheriff and a fire marshal."

Aras nodded and ran off, in the direction of the Council Building; which was the office complex that the School Council used as Headquarters and had been rightfully named so. Heather and Tonya took off as well.

"Izzy's not here?" Christian asked, looking at Brooklyn.

"She wasn't feeling too hot," Brooklyn said softly. "She's probably still under the weather after what happened with Jericho."

"Alright, you guys best get to work too," Bobby said. "Get in that hospital and take inventory of all the medical supplies we have."

* * *

While the events unfolded down in Monaco Town, just up the road, a bit of a distance away, Salamander School had its own problems.

Vittorie Rowley sat in her seat, hands folded on her lap, her plaid skirt hiked up high. In the way that she had been taught by her mother and her discipline mistress, she sat with her back straight, her shoulders set apart and her lips pursed.

Salamander School was a boarding school, and it was here that the boys and girls were sent to be taught to become gentlemen and ladies of fine background. Even with the adults gone, habits stuck, habits that had been incorporated in most of the students at Salamander School since young.

Back in the day, before all the craziness of the past three days, their discipline mistress, Mdm Rogers, would hit them on the hand, lightly, with a thin cane, if they were to do something wrong.

It was through this same method that Mdm Rogers had trained the kids at Salamander School proper etiquette.

"Sit up straight!" she'd yell.

_WHIP! _went her cane.

"Don't slouch!"

_WHIP!_

"Shoulders straight!"

_WHIP!_

"Wipe that smirk off your face!"

_WHIP!_

Vittorie had to hand it to Mdm Rogers. She knew how to whip kids into shape. Barely two months after joining Salamander, Vittorie was thoroughly changed. She became more well-mannered, less loud-mouthed, more becoming of a lady. Her friends Walter and Trevor, too, had gone from fat, spoilt brats into fine, strong gentlemen.

When the adults had all disappeared from Salamander, it had been Walter who took charge as the leader of the Salamanders.

The Salamanders.

That was the name Trevor called them, their group of students.

They were the Salamanders.

Vittorie stood on the second floor landing of the school, looking out the window. She could see the distant rooftops of Monaco Town, down the road. So close and yet so far. She and another of her classmates, a girl named Eunice, had both gone down scouting. They'd found kids bumming out in their houses, wasting away in the face of the hopelessness of their situations.

"Vittorie. Walter's looking for you."

Vittorie turned away from the window. It was a boy, named Polar, standing opposite her, beckoning her to follow.

"Yes," she said. "I'll be right there."

Vittorie followed Polar down to the lobby, where Walter stood atop an overturned crate, so he could see over the heads of the 56 Salamanders gathered in the lobby. Trevor stood on his left, much shorter and looking much less dignified, biting his nails and shuffling his feet. Walter's lackey, a bodybuilder type-of guy named Strive, stood on Walter's right, thick arms crossed and Mdm Rogers' cane in his hand, twirling menacingly in his fingers.

Polar led Vittorie over to stand in between him and Eunice, within the crowd. Seeing all Salamanders present, Walter began, clearing his throat.

"Salamanders...today is the day. We have waited and bid our time long enough. We have prepared ourselves. There have been events, taking place of late within this school, events I do not wish to bring up," Walter said.

Vittorie remembered them clearly. A younger girl, maybe 12, named Tiffany, had broken the rules. Walter had ordered; or instructed, since he thought of that word as less harsh; all the Salamanders to surrender a portion of their food to the pile so Walter could distribute the rations and supplies to all of them equally. Tiffany hadn't given the equal portion. Strive had taken it upon himself to test out Mdm Rogers' whip on Tiffany, only not on her hand. On her back. Harder. Much harder than Mdm Rogers had used it. Walter hadn't stopped him. That was the thing, growing up in the Salamanders School. Cruelty was a common thing to be seen; sympathy not so much.

"We have collected enough food, water and supplies from all of you. Together, we will head down, to Monaco Town," Walter said. "We shall show the humble townsfolk, that we are dignified. We are ladies and gentlemen, together, we have etiquette. We will show them kindness and sympathy. We will be diplomatic in our terms. We will help them wherever we can. Whoever leads them down there, we shall convince him or her that letting the Salamanders have partial control over their town will be beneficial for both parties. Together, we will gain their trust and make Monaco Town..._our _town."

* * *

Izzy sat, alone, in Cris's living room. Barely 24 hours ago, Jericho had sat in the same armchair, to her left. The very carpet her feet was resting on had been stained with the Coke, the Coke that had spilled out of the can he'd dropped.

Missy came prancing down the stairs. "Iz?"

Izzy snapped out of her trance, looking over to her younger sister, wiping away the last of her tears with her shirt sleeve, sniffing. "Missy. What is it?"

"I'm hungry. Can I have some ice-cream?" Missy asked.

Izzy gave her sister a watery smile. "Sure. Don't worry, Missy. I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you're well-fed. No matter what happens, you're always Number One in my heart and in my mind. I just want you to know that."


	5. Campers, Criminals and Cars

Mitzi stepped over the threshold, clutching onto Alexis's hand. She moved further into the small house, entering the living room. The boy and girl followed behind her. Now that she and Alexis had moved back into Monaco Town, she'd been able to attend the announcement in Town Square earlier today.

The boy behind her, Bobby, clapped his hands. "So...Mitzi, right? What do you think of the house?"

Given that Mitzi was a vacationer and had nowhere else to go, she'd had to find someplace to stay. She'd gone to Bobby, who she'd seen in action, giving his little speech in the Town Square. He was the natural, impromptu leader of the MT FAYZ, as kids were now calling it, and so she figured she could find assistance from him. He and his subordinate Gwen had brought her here, to a random house, unoccupied by anyone.

"It'll do," Mitzi muttered, wandering through the house. "Right now, I'm just glad I've got a place to stay. I'm not picky."

Alexis had let go of her hand and was now turning on the TV, popping in a DVD. Gwen and Bobby followed Mitzi as she entered the kitchen and inspected the place. Mitzi opened the refrigerator and smiled, seeing an assortment of refrigerated foods inside.

"This house was previously owned by a Julius and Julia Hindrance," Gwen said, studying her clipboard. Mitzi had observed that both her and Bobby carried clipboards. The two struck her as a very organized pair of people. Together, they operated like a well-oiled machine.

"If you need anything, you can find me, and Gwen, or any member of the Council, at the Council Building, across the street from Town Square," Bobby said proudly. "Monaco Town's relatively small, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to find your way around. If you ever need some extra food, you can stop by the grocery store. I've got some of my men in charge of it. The rule I've established is you can't just take whatever you want. The same thing happened in the last FAYZ, if I remember my history, so we need to learn from their mistakes. We ought to conserve our food, lest they run out. And we need to find ways to make more food before they all run out. Also, if you need medical assistance, I've got people working down at our hospital. Not all of them have experience, but hopefully, it will suffice."

"What about, say, in terms of police? Or a fire department?" Mitzi asked.

Bobby paused and bit his lip. "We'll get to those when we get to it."

"That says nothing," Mitzi said.

Bobby let out a humorless laugh. "Thing is, Mitzi, though we relatively have a lot of people down here in the MT FAYZ, it's not going to make a difference, because only a fraction, and a very small fraction, mind you, are willing to actually help out. Like in the Peridio Beach FAYZ, everyone here are kids. It's only those who are responsible that take up the responsibility of maintaining this makeshift excuse of a society. Everyone else just doesn't give a damn. That's why this is so difficult."

"Well, if it helps, I wouldn't mind lending a hand or two," Mitzi said casually. "I used to help out a lot back where I came from, anyway."

"Great. What do you think you could contribute your skills toward?" Bobby asked enthusiastically.

Mitzi shrugged, thinking about it. "I've washed my Uncle Davis's car more than once. He pays me extra pocket money if I do a good job. It's technically not the same thing, but perhaps I could help out in the fire department."

_How ironic_, Mitzi thought to herself. _She, the Human Torch, putting out fires..._

The memory of Alexis holding a flame atop her finger returned to her mind's eye, bringing back other memories. Memories of Mitzi in the same position as Alexis, happily dancing flames across her fingers. Memories of Uncle Davis batting the flames out. Him warning her to never let the secret get out. And look at her now.

"Done," Bobby said, startling Mitzi. "Fire department, it is."

Gwen scribbled it down on her clipboard as Bobby, very formally, held out a hand to shake. Mitzi couldn't help but laugh as she shook his. He was behaving so much like an adult or a businessman, just to set a good example for her and the other kids in the MT FAYZ, she almost forgot he was a kid, barely older than her. He smiled, puffed his chest out and grinned. "Sincerely, though, I really appreciate the help, Mitzi. And I'm sorry you had to be pulled into this, brought into Monaco Town on the same day this had to happen. You could have decided to take a vacation any other time but I guess..."

Mitzi shrugged. "No use dwelling on it, really. In a way, I feel like...I feel like this was fate. Me coming here. I feel like it was meant to be."

"What on Earth makes you say that?" Bobby asked.

Mitzi thought to herself, thinking about the mutants from Peridio Beach. Thinking about the things she could do. The things Alexis were starting to do as well.

"Bobby? Bobby, you in here?"

The sound of someone's voice coming from the front door interrupted them. One of Bobby's subordinates, a guy named Aras, burst into the kitchen. "Bobby, we got company."

* * *

Bobby stepped out of the Hindrances' house, Gwen and Aras on either side of him. Mitzi hung back by the door. Bobby stared straight ahead at the crowd of people approaching.

Kids were beginning to gather on either side of the street, or poking their heads out of the doors and windows of neighboring houses, to watch the scene unfold. It was a group of about 50 kids, dressed in strange uniforms, with a school crest emblazoned over their chest pockets: an image of a Salamander.

"Stay calm," Bobby whispered behind him to Gwen and Aras.

The leader of the pack was most likely the boy who strutted at the front of the crowd. Bobby recognized the uniform: these were the kids from the boarding school up the road from Monaco Town. Bobby had almost forgotten about them. He hadn't realized that they were trapped in the MT FAYZ as much as he and the others in Monaco Town were.

The crowd gathered around and outside Mitzi's house. The leader moved forward and addressed Bobby directly. "Bobby Clinton?"

Bobby stood up straight, noting that almost all the Salamanders had straight, rigid postures. "That's me. To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"I am Walter. Walter Humway. I represent my fellow comrades from Salamander School, just up the road," Walter introduced.

He paced up and down on the front lawn. Bobby was well aware that several people were watching the scene with rapt attention. The Salamanders were rallied behind Walter, watching him with interest and admiration. The Monaco Town citizens were watching Bobby with expectation in their eyes. He was their leader; he'd stepped up and taken charge on Day 1 of the MT FAYZ. He had to preserve their image of him, to keep their community going.

"It has come to my - well, our - attention, that all the adults have...disappeared," Walter said. "I believe you should know about this, and what this means."

"I do," Bobby replied. "This is the beginning of a next-generation FAYZ, a repeat of the Peridio Beach incident."

Walter smiled and nodded. "Good. You know your history and we can understand each other."

He continued pacing up and down, giving the impression of a leader deep in thought. "Now, back then, at Peridio Beach, there were two groups of people. Two different sets of two different groups. There were the normals, then the freaks. But there was also a different distinction. There were the citizens of Peridio, and on the other end, there were the kids from Coates."

Bobby nodded.

"I...I sense a bit of parallelism here, in what we're doing," Walter said, gesturing with his hands. "You represent your folk, here, in Monaco Town. I represent my fellow classmates in Salamander. You are Monaco Town's Sam Temple."

"I guess that would make you Salamander's Caine Soren," Bobby said.

"Well, I hope I don't end up dead like he did," Walter said, with a hint of a smile. "What I'm trying to achieve is perhaps, you would let us integrate into your society?"

"What do you mean?" Bobby asked.

"We come from Salamander. You and your folk have stayed here, in this town, on these grounds. We are like intruders. Like what the people of Coates did, they made arrangements. They came down to Peridio and made the place better," Walter said. "We can do the same. We, from Salamander, want to do what Coates did. We want to integrate into Monaco Town, be part of your community, until this version of the FAYZ is over."

"The people from Coates didn't exactly do a good job in Peridio, did they?" Bobby said.

"That was Caine Soren's fault," Walter said airily. "I believe I can do much better. If we have a deal, Bobby, the two of us can lead this town together. We can head over to wherever your office is and discuss the terms and conditions of both your folk and my folk living together."

Walter held out a hand to shake. Bobby remembered holding out his hand to Mitzi earlier. He remembered how formal doing that had made him feel, as if their deal for Mitzi to help out in the fire department had been officially sealed by their joined hands. Walter was doing the same thing here. He was going to publicly seal the deal, and hold Bobby to it.

Bobby desperately wanted to turn around, to see what Gwen had to say. Gwen was the girl with the strategy. He was just the leader, with the capability and the responsibility. But he didn't know the right choice to make.

Gwen would know. But turning around to get advice from Gwen, would mean turning his back on Walter. It would not only show Walter, but also everyone on the street watching them, that the so-called leader Bobby wasn't the one making the decisions. It would make them believe he wasn't capable to be the leader, if he didn't make this big a decision on his own.

Getting suggestions from Gwen was out of the question. The choice was his to make, right here and right now.

Bobby took Walter's hand and shook it firmly.

* * *

"Breakfast is ready, lads!" Donna called out, rousing the five boys from their sleep.

She was on her knees by the campfire, scarping portions of an omelette onto six different plates. Callum, Marvin and Damon staggered out of the tent to Donna's left. All three boys had their hair in rat's nests and pale complexions. Kenny and Billy, the identical twins, crawled out from the second tent, both not quite as lively or as spirited as they would have been had they not been drop-dead tired.

"Eat up, gents. We still have a long distance to hike before we reach Monaco Town," Donna said sternly, handing each of them individual plates.

The six of them were all friends and the day before summer break officially began, Donna's Aunt Hayley had taken them all out on a little hike and a camping trip into the nearby woods.

Of course, things had gone fine. They'd actually been having a bit of fun. Except Marvin, perhaps, the largest of the six. With his too-tight muscle shirt and his overlarge size, it was harder for him to trek through the foliage and he was pouring with sweat all the way.

Donna supposed they were all friends. Donna's best and closest friend out of the group was Callum. He was the shy kid, but also the kindest and most compassionate. The two had been childhood friends and he was loyal to her. Callum had made friends with Damon, who was known for being a bit of a prankster at school, or for being the cool kid, just cause he dressed better, was laidback and very at ease. Damon's 'lackey' of sorts would then be Marvin. Damon brought the popularity and the cunning and the humor and the brains; Marvin was muscle. The four had gotten together as sort of mutual friends, though to be honest, if not for Callum, Donna would never have hung out with the likes of Marvin and Damon. Billy and Kenny were the twins, and they were the liveliest of the group, the most willing to take on dares during Truth or Dare (the Dares were usually posed by Damon, who could think up the most ingenious and most embarrassing of Dares), the most strong-stomached and the most hyperactive.

The six of them had expected a nice camping trip. They had not expected Aunt Hayley to disappear in the middle of it.

When she 'poofed', Donna had at first wondered if perhaps the heat of the forest had gotten to her. Perhaps Aunt Hayley had wandered off to the side, deeper into the forest, where Donna and the others couldn't see her. When they realized she was well and truly gone, they went in search of her. That was when they found it.

The barrier.

One side of it had cut through the forest. Marvin, the bravest, had opted to touch it and had ran back, screaming about the barrier 'burning' his hand.

It didn't take long for Callum and Donna to deduce the truth: another FAYZ incident. Now, they were trying to find their way back to civilization, even if it meant a society full of kids under fifteen, camping out in Monaco Town. It was still considered civilization, and they had to get down there. But three days had passed, with them still stuck, trapped, and lost, in the dense forest, with no sign of escape.

"Don't play with your food!" Donna reprimanded, seeing Kenny shift the omelette around his plate with his plastic fork. "Eat!"

Donna wasn't fond of having to play the role of the 'mother' to these five boys. Kenny and Billy were playful; they enjoyed teasing her and mucking around and generally giving her a hard time during the day, then when it was night, either one or both twins would crawl over to her in their tent (Donna shared a tent with the twins) and whimper to her about their insomnia. Marvin wasn't much trouble, unless Damon was mad, in which case Marvin would be too. Damon, for his part, was usually sarcastic about their situation. Donna knew that was, perhaps, Damon's default mode, to hide his true emotions and his true feelings of fear and hopelessness. Still, it didn't credit all the grief he was giving them. Callum, of course, was the more gentlemanly of the lot, but he too, often gave Donna trouble.

Donna had to admit she felt uncomfortable being alone with all five boys. With Aunt Hayley at least there had been another female, and an adult, no less. Now, she was trapped, in the forest, with no adults, and no other girl. Donna did not like it. Then again, she didn't have many other friends who were girls, apart from perhaps Gwendolyn from school, who had always been friendly towards her as both her and Donna were in the Book Club, and perhaps Heather, who was her desk partner in class.

"Where do you find these eggs?" Callum wondered aloud, his eyes twinkling as he wolfed his breakfast down.

Donna had no idea if he was genuinely hungry or if he was eating to set a good example for the other four _or _if he was eating just to appease her. It could be all three.

"I found a nest, while you were all dozing away," Donna said, rolling her eyes.

She often found boys were sleazes. They slept like pigs. Donna was always up earliest in the morning, before the sun was completely risen over the horizon. Even in the new FAYZ, she was up earlier than the sky. Kenny and Billy would often suffer from insomnia and come to bother her in the middle of the night, and they'd end up fast asleep when she woke up later.

"Maybe this will be the day we finally get out of here," Callum said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Or maybe this will be another wasted day of wandering aimlessly through the forest," Damon replied.

Damon had gotten in an increasingly bad temper as the days had worn on. Donna was worried about him. She was genuinely worried about his sake, but more worried about how he, and Marvin, would react if one or the other finally lost his tolerance. That was the thing about other human beings: unpredictable. Donna didn't know how her so-called 'friends' would act if put to the test in an emergency. An emergency, like, this new FAYZ.

She'd heard the stories, of course, of the people in the FAYZ. She had taken a particular interest in the boy named Quinn, mainly because he had started out as such a cool guy and had been Sam Temple's best friend. After the FAYZ came along, the two had become distant, Quinn got jealous of Sam's powers, one thing led to another and Quinn betrayed Sam. Twice. To the people from Coates.

Donna was always interested in the subject of betrayal. How a person could betray another person's image of him or her.

When everyone's plates were polished, Donna set about collecting them. "We should hurry up and move. I think we could be near the city now."

"Good," Marvin grunted as everyone got to their feet. "The sooner we get to the city, the better."

"I just can't wait for a proper bed," Kenny complained as they set about packing up their tents and supplies.

"Insomnia is killing us," Billy agreed.

"We'll find a way out of this," Callum encouraged. "I promise. We'll find comfortable beds in no time. Maybe today will be the day we make it down there, to safety."

* * *

Burke Cotton stood outside the institution, smiling to himself. He turned around and looked back at the place he had been put in; his prison since he was 12.

**MONACO TOWN INSTITUTION**

**FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE**

They'd said he was crazy. They'd called him insane. They blamed him for the death of his brother.

Burke didn't think he was to blame. He wanted more drugs, more drugs from the nice but selfish dealer, Fisher, as he referred to himself as. Burke was hurting from lack of his fix. He needed more money. He shoplifted. He stole. He pickpocketed.

His brother found out. Tried to convince Burke to stop. He tried to restrain Burke.

His brother got a kitchen knife in the head.

Burke didn't stop there.

He was halfway through dismembering the corpse when the police arrived.

Burke smiled crookedly and gave the finger to the institution, turning on his heel and heading down the highway, in the direction of Monaco Town.

He'd been kept captive in the institution for so long, since he was arrested and sent there. When the doctors and guards and the older inmates had all disappeared, it had left him.

Just him.

Alone.

He'd been the youngest one in there.

And now, he was the most dangerous one.

He'd taken the institution for himself. He acted out roleplays and delusions inside the place. When three days came and left, and the food started to rot and supply ran low, Burke had decided to leave.

He knew there was a town not far from the institution.

It was there that Burke planned to find food.

And find a new life.

Until a new opportunity were to present itself.

Burke was strangely calm through all this. It didn't alarm him in the slightest that all the adults had simply vanished without a trace. He'd been sitting in his room, singing "Humpty Dumpty" to himself and didn't react when a doctor came in for his daily check-up and disappeared from existence in a split second.

Burke had been happy. No more restrictions, no more limitations. He could finally be set free.

Perhaps it had been the drug addiction, though he was cleared of that. Perhaps it was just the way Burke was. The doctors told him he was mentally unstable, that Burke liked causing unnecessary chaos, that it fueled him and made him feel powerful.

They warned him not to dismember anyone. But after Burke dismembered his brother, he did the same to a fellow inmate. He snuck into the inmate's ward, strangled him to death. He had a large butcher knife smuggled into the facility and had happily began chopping up the corpse of the man he'd murdered. That night, he went around in the dark and scattered the body parts around the institution for the doctors and nurses to find.

He was put in solitary confinement after that. People were scared of him. Scared that they would be dismembered next.

Burke didn't know why he was so eager to dismember people. While people had hobbies like golf and chess, he enjoyed the idea of chopping people up, chopping them up like meat.

He had fantasies. Twisted, sadistic fantasies. The doctors gave him pills. They sent him to treatment. They were under the impression that they could restrain Burke, repress his urge for blood and gore.

It didn't work.

* * *

Lambert Faust Jr. was in the workplace of Lambert Faust Sr.

Lambert was an only child. At school, he was one of those kids who blended into the background and tended to stay there. He was easily overlooked, unseen, compared to the alpha males and females of the school.

He was considered unimportant and negligible. Half the people in his class hadn't bothered to remember his name.

His dad worked as a mechanic.

Lambert had often begged his father to let him see his workplace one time. His father hadn't agreed. He'd said, "It's too dangerous. There are tons of dangerous things where I work. Maybe when you're older."

Now that Lambert was 14, and thus, one of the oldest in the MT FAYZ, he figured, now he had the right to see his father's place of work.

He entered the car repair through the wide, open garage door. There were a few cars at their stations. Some had their hoods up; mechanics had been working on them before they disappeared.

Lambert's father was just an employee. Lambert often heard his father on the phone, in the living room back at home. His father had constantly been in a bad mood over those phone calls and Lambert had overheard him in many an argument with his boss.

"Is everything alright?" Lambert had asked.

"No...my boss is giving me a hard time," Lambert Sr. had sighed. "I might get fired."

"Why?" Lambert asked.

"He's always given me a hard time," Lambert Sr. had replied. "He's a racist jerkwad."

Lambert had been shocked. His father rarely swore, especially not in such a childish and vulgar manner. But Lambert could see how upset his father was. Given that he and his father had moved to Monaco Town only six months ago and that both were the only black people in town, Lambert could understand the grief his father's boss was giving him. And maybe that was also why Lambert was usually ignored at school, even by some of the teachers.

Not everyone was cold and mean towards Lambert and his father. Their neighbor, Mr. and Ms. Hindrance, brother and sister salespeople, had always been kind and welcoming towards the father and son. Now, not only was his father gone, Lambert's friendly neighbors too, now replaced by some vacationing chick and her little sister.

Lambert had seen the commotion at the Hindrances' house, with the Salamanders arriving to make a deal with Bobby. Lambert knew about these sort of things. He had studied colonization at school. He knew, back in old times, colonial rulers would make deals with local rulers or kings of a specific country if they wanted to take it over. He had an inkling the Salamanders and their leader, Walter, sought to do the same thing.

Lambert had left. He wasn't fond of big crowds. He liked being alone. It made it easier for him to think, when he was left in peace.

So, when the Salamanders arrived, Lambert left his house, which he was now forced to share with a kid named Zack. Bobby had literally dropped the kid Zack off at Lambert's house earlier that morning, saying that everyone had to have at least one housemate to look out for and that Zack was feeling lonely after his brother Jericho had 'poofed'. Lambert had taken Zack in, but neither seemed to enjoy the other's company very much.

Anyway, Lambert left his house, with Zack inside, to get away from him and the crowds watching Bobby and Walter. He went, instead, to find his father's workplace, which was where he was now.

Lambert ran a hand over the hood a sleek Nissan. He knew his father must have walked on this very ground, probably being chased to work by his racist boss. Lambert hated people who discriminated against him for his race.

The sound of footsteps jolted Lambert. He whirled around to find a kid standing in the open doorway, peering in.

"Hello," the boy said, staring at Lambert in curious suspicion. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, is there a problem?" Lambert asked. "Has our Supreme Leader Bobby come up with another law that prevents me from going to my father's place of work?"

"No, I was just- Well, I was visiting my father's place of work too," the kid said, stepping in. "I was going to find his office here, to see if I can take back anything that reminded me of him."

Lambert paused and nodded. "I can understand that."

The other boy nodded gratefully and stepped in, watching Lambert touch the nearest car lovingly. "You like cars?"

"My dad does. He's one of the mechanics. He maintains and repairs. He's very good at his job," Lambert said proudly.

"I see," the other kid said. "My name's Lloyd. Perhaps your father knew mine? My father's the boss of the car repair."

Lambert cast Lloyd a glare. "Your father's the boss? The racist jerkwad?"

Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean? My father's not a racist jerkwad."

"He is to my father," Lambert said, leaning against the hood the car coolly, folding his arms and staring Lloyd down accusingly.

"Well, what does it matter? Both our fathers are gone," Lloyd said, spreading his hands.

Someone knocked on the door and another boy came in. "Lloyd, come on. Bobby's about to start a meeting at the Council Building. He's going to make a deal with the Salamanders."

Lloyd nodded. "Alright, Flynn, I'm coming."

He hurried off, turning back to Lambert one last time before leaving. "Bye."

Lambert didn't reply. He watched the two boys leave silently and let out a sigh.


	6. Letting the Salamanders In

There were 14 of them in the Meeting Room. There was Bobby, Lloyd, Flynn, Aras, Cris, Christian, Gwen and Heather; representing the people of Monaco Town. And then there was Walter, his subordinates Trevor and Strive, a girl named Vittorie, a boy named Polar and another girl named Eunice; altogether representing the Salamanders, as they called themselves.

Walter smiled, leaning back in his seat. "So, Bobby, tell me, what do you need help with in the MT FAYZ, as you call it?"

Bobby sighed. "Er...we have a lot of kids, and not enough supplies. Very few of them are helping out. Not only that, we're getting more and more people by the second. My people spotted a group of six kids just emerging from the forest, and another boy was just found wandering down the highway, claiming he'd come from some institution. More and more people are coming and not enough are trying to help out in gathering supplies. We need food, we need medical supplies, we need people to take care of the preschoolers and we need a system for law enforcement and a fire department as well. We need too many things and actually have too little. No one's bothering to help out much on our end."

"I can help with that. My Salamanders would be more than happy to help you out," Walter smiled earnestly. "Let's tackle each problem one by one."

"Um...okay," Bobby muttered.

He couldn't help but feel intimidated by Walter. Everything Walter did; his speech, his body posture, his calm and confident aura; made Bobby feel uncomfortable. Though Walter and the Salamanders were the newcomers in the town, the way Walter sat, the way he spoke and smiled, it was as if he was the one in charge.

"My subordinates Strive and Polar can handle law enforcement," Walter said, waving a hand as if it was no big deal. "Strive here is very good with upholding the law, or at least, the rules."

Strive smiled crookedly in reply.

"And my boy, Polar, he's brave," Walter said. "And good at crowd control. The only thing he can't handle would be spiders. There aren't any spiders here in Monaco Town, now, are there?"

"Even if there were, I doubt they'd pose much of a problem to a temporary sheriff," Bobby pointed out.

"Excellent. So it's decided. My boys Strive and Polar are in charge of law enforcement," Walter said.

"Wait," Gwen cut in. "We should have men on our side too. People from Monaco Town."

Walter's eyes flashed momentarily, and Bobby thought he caught a look of anger flit across his usual smile as he glared at Gwen for interrupting. In an instant, the glare was wiped away and replaced by the usual charismatic smile that Bobby was sure he must have been mistaken.

"Of course," Walter said. "And you are...?"

"Gwendolyn," Gwen offered him her hand. "I'm Bobby's...adviser."

"Adviser," Walter repeated. "That's good. It's good to have an adviser to help. I approve of that. So who from your people are you willing to volunteer for this job?"

Gwen bit her lip, stumped.

"I'll do it," Lloyd volunteered.

"If you're doing it, I'll join you," Flynn said from beside him.

"Done," Bobby said, hoping to exude the same confidence that Walter had. "Any objections?"

Walter met his eyes. His cold black eyes didn't meet his smile. Walter knew Bobby was challenging him. The prospect of trying to compete with this boy, this Salamander; for control over this meeting and the administrative decision to take place in Monaco Town; scared Bobby.

"No objections," Walter said, winking at Bobby. "Now, onto the fire department. My girls, Eunice and Vittorie, can work on that. What about you? Who do you volunteer?"

"Aras," Bobby said, suggesting the first name that had popped into his mind, desperate to keep pace with Walter's decision-making speed. Walter had clearly prepared for this beforehand, prepared the names he would pick and the people he'd select. Bobby had had no time to practice or prepare. Walter was testing him, testing how fast he could react under stress.

Walter nodded. "Any objections from anyone on either sides?"

No one raised any.

"Then, it's settled. The decision has been made," Walter said.

"We'll find houses for you and your folk," Bobby said. "Gwen here will lead you all to empty homes, for you to put up in for the time being."

"Great," Walter said. "May I request that me and my assistant Trevor stay here?"

"In the Council Building?" Bobby asked.

"Has anyone claimed this place?" Walter asked, feigning innocence.

"Well...yeah. Me," Bobby said.

"Would you mind, then? It will make me feel more...more like a leader of this place," Walter said. "The position seals the title. Both me and you, Bobby, in the same building. Both leaders of many. Both helping to maintain this town, this community and society. Together. What do you say to that?"

Bobby hesitated. "I don't have very many...objections, so...alright."

Walter smiled. "Then, it's settled. Us Salamanders are moving in. We're so glad you see things our way, Bobby."

* * *

Gwen let Lindsay into her house. The 13 year-old looked around the place, as if scrutinizing the furniture.

"It's not the homiest of places," Gwen said, trying to be modest, watching Lindsay move through the living room. "But it's home."

"I like it," Lindsay said, smiling at Gwen. "Thanks for offering to put me up. To be honest, I was feeling kind of lonely, being alone in my big house, with no parents or older siblings."

Gwen nodded. "Well, we can stick together now. Help each other out. Bobby's doing his best to maintain the MT FAYZ society, and now we have the Salamanders moving in too. I'm sure that the two groups of people can work together to help us all survive."

"Let's hope so," Lindsay said. "I'm going to check out my bedroom."

"Go ahead," Gwen said.

A soft knocking came from the front door. Gwen turned and found Aras making his way in. "Hey, Gwen."

"Hey, Aras," Gwen greeted.

"Showing the new girl in?" Aras asked.

"She's not exactly new. I've seen her before, walking the hallways in school. We just never hung out or spoke much. She was a year younger than me," Gwen said.

"Well, at least you have a housemate, which is good. It'll make things less lonely," Aras said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You'll be living at the fire station now, won't you?" Gwen asked.

"I will be. I have to," Aras sighed. "I was actually enjoying living with Cris and Christian, but Bobby made me one of the fire marshals, so..."

"Sorry he had to single you out like that," Gwen said. "He's under a lot of stress trying to make sure all the necessities are met in the MT FAYZ."

"Besides, you shouldn't be too upset. You get to live with two hot girls," Gwen teased.

"I don't even know the two girls Walter offered to be fire marshals," Aras pointed out. "I'd much rather be living in the town."

"Don't worry - you're still in the town. And you're a member of the Council. Not just a fire marshal. You're important in the community," Gwen said.

"You make me sound way too amazing the way you describe me like that," Aras laughed.

The two of them lapsed into an easy silence.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask..." Gwen began.

"Ask ahead," Aras said.

Gwen hesitated. She knew that she could very well be starting a heap of trouble with what she was about to do. She knew about all the problems that had arose back in the original FAYZ because of this topic. But she had to ask Aras.

"How did you know?" Gwen continued. "How did you know that Lindsay was in that house?"

Aras paused. "What do you mean?"

"You somehow knew she was lying unconscious on the second floor. How did you know?" Gwen asked.

Aras's breath hitched in his throat. He opened and closed his mouth a couple times, and tried to stutter out an explanation.

"I-I just sort of knew," he finally said lamely.

Gwen arched an eyebrow. "Aras, it's okay to tell me. I'm not going to discriminate against you if you're...if you're one of _them_. I mean...I think I'm one too."

Aras's eyes widened. "You have...you're a...a freak?"

"That's a degrading term," Gwen said, frowning. "I prefer the term 'mutant'."

"So what can you do?" Aras asked.

Gwen felt embarrassed just thinking about it. She'd heard about the many powers that the mutants of the original FAYZ had. They all defied the laws of science.

Telekinesis. Speed. Teleportation. Shooting fire.

"I can...I can unlock a door," she said, her face burning.

"Oh."

Gwen shrugged. "I know. Compared to all the stuff the kids from the original FAYZ could do...my power pales in comparison."

"Don't feel bad. Sometimes, too powerful a power is also dangerous," Aras said. "Perhaps having a crazy power is a bad thing too. I mean, do you really think Sam Temple wanted to have the power to shoot flames from his hand? The powers ruined the lives of many in the FAYZ. It was the powers that first started all that chaos. Maybe having something minor, like being able to unlock a locked door, isn't such a bad thing."

Gwen nodded, feeling strangely comforted at the thought. "Yeah...yeah, I guess."

"And this way, if anyone tries to lock you up or put you in jail, you can easily get out," he joked. "So, what, you just touch a doorknob and the door opens?"

"Something like that," Gwen said. "I just have to touch a door knob or a lock and concentrate. Then, I can open the door."

"Well, at least I don't feel as bad," Aras said. "I was always worried by the things I could pull off. Then again, they're not as powerful as shooting flames from my hands or anything."

"What can you do?" Gwen asked. "Is it something to do with how you found Lindsay?"

Aras shrugged. "Well, I...I can sort of...detect heat signals. It's like...like my vision goes all thermal...you know? Thermal imaging."

"I know what you mean. That's how you found Lindsay? You detected her through the walls?" Gwen asked.

Aras nodded. "Yeah."

"See? Your powers did good. It helped her. She wasn't technically in any life-threatening danger, but, you still helped her out," Gwen said. "Being a mutant shouldn't be anything to be afraid of."

Gwen paused. Something had been nagging at her mind at some point within the conversation. "Hey... how did the original FAYZ start?"

"The original FAYZ?" Aras asked. "An autistic kid was aggravated. He unleashed his powers and encased the entirety of Peridio Beach."

"What if that's the same situation here?" Gwen asked. "What if someone in Monaco Town caused the FAYZ with his or her powers?"

"Then, maybe that would be the way to escape," Aras said, cluing in. "We should tell Bobby about this."

* * *

Vittorie followed Bobby and Walter; Eunice at her side; as they led her through town to the fire station. Walter walked with his hands in his pockets, walking in what seemed to be a very calm and composed strut. Bobby, on the contrary, had his shoulders slouched.

"This is the fire station," Bobby said, pointing at the big red building. "There are fire trucks in there, as well as rooms for your girls and Aras to stay in. There's a kitchen and a hangout room and various other facilities."

"My girls will appreciate that, won't you?" Walter asked, eyes twinkling as they landed on Vittorie and Eunice.

"It'll do," Eunice said, turning to Bobby. "This 'Aras' character...is he trustworthy?"

"I trust him. He's reliable. He'll get the job done. Don't count on him to cook meals though," Bobby said, half-jokingly. He turned back to Walter, looking slightly more serious. "On a serious note, thank you, I guess. We appreciate the help, because I need all the people I can to help work and stabilize the community here in the MT FAYZ. There are more than enough kids here to help pitch in around town, yet many of them from Monaco Town sit around doing nothing useful. So I really have to thank you Salamanders for your effort."

"No trouble at all Bobby," Walter said. "I just think that, in return for us Salamanders helping to keep our joint community alive until we're free of the MT FAYZ, is that us Salamanders get slightly more...eh...benefit."

"What benefit?" Bobby asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, I think that since I'm helping you out with your problem, it's only right that you owe me," Walter said, patting Bobby on the shoulder. "We can talk about that later, Bobby. For now, I'm going to explore the town."

He was gone before Bobby could react.

"Bobby!"

The third and final fire marshal, the kid named Aras, came running up to Bobby from across the street. Gwen, Bobby's so-called assistant, was behind him.

"We need to talk to you," Aras said to Bobby.

Bobby turned to look at Vittorie and Eunice. Vittorie took the cue and tapped Eunice on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go in and check out the fire station."

They hurried in, leaving Bobby alone with Aras and Gwen.

* * *

Burke strolled through town, swinging his arms, enjoying his new-found freedom. It had been a long time since he'd seen a proper house, or grass, or anything remotely related to ordinary society. It had only been a couple of years being locked up in the institution, but the years had been long enough to ensure he truly lost his mind and forget almost everything about normal society.

Monaco Town.

Burke wondered if this town would be ready for the likes of him.

Everyone here consisted of kids. He'd seen plenty of preschoolers at the day care, being babysitted by two pretty girls. He'd seen other kids hanging out at their houses, transfixed by the TV, though the sniffles Burke heard every once in a while reminded him that these kids still missed their parents and the sting of their loss would not be driven away or hidden completely by watching an old movie all over again.

They were weak, weaker than Burke.

Burke's own parents had sent him away after he killed his brother. They were disgusted and ashamed of him.

He didn't need parents. So he was only 14. So he was technically still a kid. After getting addicted to drugs, finding out he had a thing for murder and dismemberment, killing his brother, being abandoned by his parents and sent away to a mental institution for the criminally insane, Burke found he was no longer very shocked or frightened by anything.

Now, as he walked through the streets of the newly named MT FAYZ, his mind was already at work, trying to figure out what he should do first, to ensure he got the best out of the rest of his life here, for as long as it may be.

Firsthand, Burke needed a lackey.

Every major villain or antagonist had a sidekick. Burke was determined to find one.

As mentally unstable as he was, Burke was a very strategic person. He relied as much on his cunning as he did on his indifference to violent sadism. He was going to have fun once he got his hands on his first victim. The leader of the MT FAYZ, Bobby, had no idea how foolish he'd been to have let Burke into his little town.

Burke's stomach growled. He'd need food, first. After food, perhaps he could pick one of the empty houses to stay at. But Burke knew that the girl, Gwen, would stop him. He'd seen them show the Mitzi girl and her sister their house. That showed that Bobby wanted to know who was staying where, and who they were staying with.

Burke needed a sidekick and he needed food. He also needed a house and a housemate. One that he couldn't murder just yet.

Burke stopped by another house and peered through the window again, as he'd done for the past few houses, just to see if there was any resident living inside that caught his eye or struck him as a person of interest.

Inside this house, was a 14 year old kid. He was sitting on his couch, the movie playing on the TV paused. Burke was about to move away from this house, dismiss this kid, and go on to the next one, when he froze.

The kid inside the house had his hands outstretched, palms out, aimed at a small white mug on the coffee table.

Burke stared as, almost as if by magic, the cup moved across the surface of the coffee table. It moved only a few inches, and Burke could see the kid concentrating, biting his lip, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Burke smiled. He was perfect.

He knocked on the window. The kid inside jumped, startled, and the mug stopped moving. He stared, shocked and frightened, at Burke. Burke gestured for the kid to open the door.

The kid gulped and got off his couch, moving out of sight. Burke saw the front door open and the kid poked his head out. "Uh...how can I help you?"

Burke wasted no time. He rushed over, grabbed the kid by the scruff of his neck and pushed him deeper into the house. The kid yelped as he collapsed onto the floor. Burke slammed the front door shut behind him and turned back to the kid, wagging a finger threateningly. "You're a mutant."

"Don't tell anyone!" the kid pleaded, getting to his feet and cowering away from Burke, clutching the wall.

"Oh, don't be a baby," Burke chided, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not a..." the kid cleared his throat, moving away from the wall, composing himself. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice more steady.

"I need a place to stay," Burke said, pacing up and down. "Who else lives here apart from you?"

"No one, man. This is my parents' house, and I'm not exactly Mr. Popular at school, okay? I don't have any housemates," he said.

"Whatever," Burke scowled. "I need a place to stay, and if you don't have a housemate, and I don't have either a house or a housemate, then I'm moving in."

"What? You can't just-"

Burke cut the kid off with a quick punch to the gut. The other boy stumbled back, groaning.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do," Burke threatened. "You're a freak. And you don't want anyone to know. If you don't want me to go out and tell everyone on the street about it, you shut up and let me stay here."

"Alright," the kid protested. "Alright, just...don't hit me again."

Burke studied the kid. "What else can you do? Your powers, I mean."

The kid took a shaky breath. "Not much. I mean, I can move objects with my...well, my mind. I just have to hold out my hands and I can move stuff without touching them. It's not...not that powerful...but..."

"Good enough," Burke said. "What's your name?"

The kid swallowed. "Stanley."

"Alright, Stanley," Burke said. "From now on, you work for me. You're my sidekick."

"What? No. No, I'm nobody's sidekick," Stanley spat.

"You're mine now," Burke growled. "I'm the Joker and you're my Harley Quinn. Together, with my cunning and your telekinesis, this town is ours to wreck."

"I don't want to wreck this town," Stanley said. "Sure, the people here are jerks, but no. It's my town, my house!"

"And your power," Burke pointed out.

There came the sound of knocking on the door. Burke rushed over and peeked through the window. He could see the girl, Gwen, standing outside, holding her clipboard.

"It's that Gwen girl," Burke hissed at Stanley. "You better play along, and tell her I'm your new housemate, or else, kid."

Burke opened the door. Gwen stared at him, surprised. "Who are you?"

"I'm Burke," Burke said, leaning against the doorway. "I arrived this morning."

"Oh, yes. I remember you," Gwen said. She remembered her and Bobby taking his name down on the list of residents when Lloyd had reported seeing him stumbling down the highway, looking like he'd come out of prison, which, he might have had.

"Is Stanley home?" Gwen asked timidly.

"Yo, housemate!" Burke called, putting on a good show of calling Stanley over.

Stanley, in a bad mood and sulking, moved over to stand next to Stanley.

"Are you two housemates?" Gwen asked, her brow creased.

Stanley opened his mouth, looking at Burke out of the corner of his eye. "I guess we are."

Burke smiled, clapping Stanley on the shoulder. Not a friendly gesture. A warning.

"Alright," Gwen said, scribbling something down on her clipboard. "So now that you two are living together, I hope you know the rules of the MT FAYZ. If you need food, look for Wolfe or Brent. They're setting up a grocery store with all the food in the MT FAYZ, and remember that you're only allowed to take a limited amount of food home. Hospital's still going, and now we have a system for law enforcement and a fire department."

"Got that, sweetheart," Burke said, shooting the weirded-out Gwen a false smile.

When Gwen had left, Burke shut the door and turned to Stanley. "So, sidekick, where were we? Ah yes, making plans to wreck this town. Tell me, how much food do you have here?"

"In my house?" Stanley shrugged. "Not much."

"That's not good. Big guy like me? I need lots of food." Burke grinned coldly. "Looks like we'll have to pay a visit to that grocery store after all. Only I don't intend on taking a 'limited' amount of food."

"And where do I come into play in all this?" Stanley asked.

"Well, for starters, why don't you practice your telekinesis? Just in case I need you to move multiple, heavier objects."

* * *

Carlos was among the small group of kids who'd volunteered to help out Wolfe and Brent with the food supplies. The only reason that Carlos had agreed to do it and had volunteered willingly was because he loved food. Not just eating it, but he could cook it. He loved cooking. Maybe that wasn't the manliest of hobbies, but so what? It was often said the way to a man's heart was through his stomach. The saying applied to Carlos, though admittedly from a different angle.

Carlos had learned to cook from his mother. It had been one of the first skills he'd picked up in life. It had started out with a simple sandwich. Then it had gone on to cooking fish, then steak, then Shepherd's pie. Becoming a cook in the MT FAYZ was something Carlos thought an appeasing idea.

There may not have been very many kids helping out with the subject of food, but that was before Walter had come along with his army of Salamanders. Now, at least 20 Salamanders had joined their number and Wolfe and Brent were having a hard time controlling them all.

"Get together guys!" Wolfe called out, sounding angry as he forced the kids into a line.

"Carlos, right?" Brent asked, walking over to him.

When Carlos nodded, Brent scribbled something onto a clipboard. "You're in the clear. Head into the kitchen at the Soup Shack and take inventory of all the food supplies. Go."

Carlos rushed off.

Within two minutes, he'd arrived at the empty Soup Shack. Wolfe and Brent were collecting as many food supplies as they could, so they could gauge how much food they could store without rotting, and how much of each kind of food they still had and could distribute among the hungry.

Carlos thought of the food supply as his main priority here in the MT FAYZ. He knew his mother and father would be proud to see him working so hard and having such an important job among the kids here in Monaco Town. Carlos's own birthday and due date was in 3 years; he was only 12. So he knew if he was to survive until then, he'd need food. He didn't know if the original rules of the Peridio Beach FAYZ still applied here in the MT FAYZ. It was a whole other FAYZ. Perhaps stepping out at fifteen didn't let you out into the outside world now. Perhaps it was a different alternative. But Carlos figured he still had three years to think it over. Three years was plenty of time for food to run out among the two-hundred over kids in the MT FAYZ. Plenty of time for him to starve.

Carlos himself lived with his two best friends and housemates, Larry and Kieran. Out of the three of them, Carlos had been the one in the kitchen, at the counter, flipping the frying pan and making dinner out of anything he could scavenge from the fridge and cabinets.

He entered the kitchen. There was still food lying about, from where chefs had been cooking when they'd disappeared. It was a miracle stoves and frying pans hadn't still been on, or the Soup Shack would have burned down.

Carlos went around the kitchen, opening fridges and freezers and taking notes on his own little clipboard; one that Brent had handed to him before sending him here. He was taking inventory of all the ingredients and all the food.

Milk, celery, onions, tofu...

Bread, mushrooms, salt and pepper...

Carlos loved food. He loved being in the kitchen.


	7. Author's Note (ON HOLD)

**So, to all who are following this story...**

**My exams are coming up soon, so I'm going to stop writing for now. Once my exams are over, I'll continue writing. Don't worry, this story isn't over yet, just on hold for the time being.**

**See you all in the future!**

**Hoping you don't die in the FAYZ - AwesomeOK1**


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